CombatSports.org

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

If the post above doesn’t make a lot of sense upon first glance, you’re not alone.

BJ Penn, a two-division champion and one of the most decorated UFC fighters in history, has been no stranger to controversy since retiring back in 2019. There have been multiple bar fights and an ill-fated political campaign for Hawaiian governor, as well as accusations of sexual assault and violence from the mother of his children.

Sadly, the issues are continuing for “The Prodigy.” A recent report revealed Penn is currently facing a lawsuit for domestic abuse, as well as a restraining order from one or more unnamed parties.

In this context, Penn’s post can be better understood. Penn seems to be saying that his accuser was bribed to file the temporary restraining order by some sort of “sabotage squad” of Penn enemies with the goal of destroying his reputation. Per Penn, the sabotage squad believed he “would start some fake Hawaiian revolution so they started attacking me for no reason.”

I’m not a lawyer, but the repeated statement of “I love confrontation” doesn’t appear likely to help his case. The image above indicates a November update to both cases, so hopefully more information will come to light sooner than later.

Insomnia

Happy Halloween!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I don’t think it happens to Khamzat, but it’s only appropriate that Dricus Du Plessis’ guillotine is hilarious.

PRIDE Wanderlei Silva was a different animal.

Shouldn’t the guy rolling solo be way bigger or way better at fighting than the duo? Execution indeed.

Random Land

I definitely posted the original fish picture once, but the additional pics are worth a revisit.

Midnight Music: Alternative, 1994

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/ISWThunder [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Beneil Dariush was originally hoping for a return before the end of the year but with the UFC schedule already looking secured for the remainder of 2024, he’s looking at an early outing in the new year. Though this kind of break isn’t necessarily anything new for fighters, especially if they’ve got injuries to attend to, it is for him.

Since turning pro back in 2009, Dariush has fought at least once in each consecutive year. Whether he’s fighting twice a year like in 2023 or four times in his debut year with the promotion, the 35-year old has been a consistently active member of the roster.

Alongside some setbacks outside of the cage to deal with, another issue for him is finding the right fights at this stage in his career. Dariush isn’t opposed to fighting rising contenders but at the #8-ranked lightweight, he can’t be giving his spot away for free either.

One of the reasons that he’s now targeting January for his Octagon return is that it takes him a bit more time to prepare for competing at 155-pounds at this stage in his career. In a recent interview with Inside Fighting, he said that moving up a weight class so that he could fight more often and open up new opportunities was even a thought at one point because he wants to be as active as possible.

“It’s been challenging and it’s just weird, you know. I understand you’ll have your ups and downs so I had my ups for a while and now I’m kinda down but like, just not to be able to fight has been weird. I enjoy it so much. I even considered going to 170 just so I can fight more often but I don’t think I’m done with 55 yet so I’ve been trying to really focus on recovery as far as the brain injuries and stuff like that. I want to make sure when I get back into the Octagon, I don’t have to worry about any of that stuff.”

Continue Reading Beneil Dariush Contemplated Moving Divisions After Missing A Full Year For The First Time In His Career at MMA News.

MMA News

UFC

submitted by /u/rmma
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Belal Muhammad’s first title defense will have to wait.

The UFC welterweight champion announced Thursday that he is out of his UFC 310 main event matchup with challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov due to a bone infection in his foot. Al Zullino first reported Muhammad’s withdrawal on Twitter.

Muhammad shared the news in a social media post.

“Caught a bone infection in my foot,” Muhammad wrote. “Had to put a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line in my arm for IV antibiotics the next six weeks with no physical activity.

“Allah’s plan is the best plan. I’m sorry to everyone that were coming to see me. I’ll be back soon. Inshallah.”

As of now, the UFC is seeking out a replacement for Rakhmonov, but a person with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting it’s unknown whether or not the undefeated fighter will compete on the Dec. 7 fight card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas or if the matchup will be moved to a later date and location.

Muhammad captured the title with a unanimous decision victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July. “Remember the Name” is unbeaten in his past 11 bouts, and hasn’t tasted defeat in nearly six years.

Rakhmonov earned his first UFC championship opportunity with a second-round submission of Stephen Thompson at UFC 296 this past December. “Nomad” has finished all 18 of the opponents he’s faced as a pro.

Following the news, Rakhmonov wished Muhammad well and suggested he is willing to fight anyone at UFC 310 for an interim welterweight title.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/rmma
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Rose Namajunas hopes to get into title contention with a win over Erin Blanchfield at UFC Edmonton on Saturday, but she could have arguably been closer already if her previous fight happened as scheduled.

Back in July, Namajunas was set to face Maycee Barber in a fight that potentially was to determine the No. 1 contender in the division. Unfortunately, Barber fell ill in the days leading up to the fight and she still hasn’t return to action as she continues to deal with her medical issues.

Namajunas moved on and defeated Tracy Cortez in dominant fashion instead and was happy to then book the fight against Blanchfield on Saturday rather than revisit the matchup with Barber.

“I always had my eye on Erin whenever she started her momentum and stuff in the UFC,” Namajunas said during UFC Edmonton media day. “I was in strawweight and thought she was a great competitor and somebody that if I ever got the chance to face her, I’d be really excited about.

“It’s unfortunate with Maycee there’s a lot of ambiguity, a lot of questions what’s going on. I still wish her health and wellness and hopefully she can get back to things but it really sucks when you train specifically for a fight and then it just gets all the way down to it and then it doesn’t [happen]. I’m good at adapting and changing scenarios and things like that. I would just be a little hesitant to book that fight right away because there’s a lot of questions with what’s going on with her.”

While Barber just recently posted an update that she’s continued to work with multiple doctors searching for answers so she could begin working towards her comeback, Namajunas wasn’t going to wait on that possible fight. Instead, she gets a higher ranked opponent in Blanchfield (currently No. 4 at 125 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings), who looks to rebound after suffering her first loss in the UFC in a unanimous decision to Manon Fiorot.

By all accounts, Fiorot, who also holds a win over Namajunas, is expected to get the next flyweight title shot against reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko sometime in 2025. Nothing has been signed, sealed or delivered by the UFC when it comes to that matchup, however, so Namajunas wouldn’t complain if she got the chance to jump the line with an impressive win over Blanchfield on Saturday.

“I guess anything’s possible and that’s my intention to put on a really good performance enough to where there’s no doubt I could be next,” Namajunas said. “But I just feel as if Manon deserves it next anyways regardless of what I do. She technically has a [win] over me. I do feel like if that was a five-round fight, I think I could have found a way to win. I was finding it towards the end. But it is what it is.”

Namajunas wouldn’t complain if she was granted a title shot, but again she’s not going to be too upset to potentially face Fiorot in a rematch or get the chance to go up against Shevchenko, one of her idols in the sport.

“If [Manon Fiorot] wins the belt, that would be great to fight her again or even have that dream matchup with Valentina one day,” Namajunas said. “So I’d be excited to see them fight but if the UFC wanted to put me ahead of that with a very spectacular performance, I’d be open to that as well.”

Namajunas has often talked about her adoration for Shevchenko after they trained together in the past. It might be bittersweet to face her in a title fight, but Namajunas couldn’t imagine a better person to fight than somebody she admires so much.

“She’s definitely always been my favorite female fighter,” Namajunas said about Shevchenko. “She’s somebody that I admire a lot and trained with a lot. It would be hard for me to not just be fanning out while I’m fighting her at the same time, it would be kind of weird.

“At the same time, just as a martial artist, it would be the ultimate dream to test myself against I’d say one of the truest martial artists in the game right now.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Bold prediction
| BJPenn.com

“Blessed” was blessed with a cool experience.

It has been almost a week (Sat., Oct. 26, 2024) since Ilia Topuria became the first man to knockout Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) legend Max Holloway at UFC 308 to notch his first Featherweight title defense from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE (watch highlights).

Holloway shared a video of him surfing in Abu Dhabi two days after the fight.

“Monday was for the pool!” Holloway wrote. “Shout out to the goat Kelly Slater for taking care of me and the team over at @surfabudhabi. The whole team got shacked!”

Watch Holloway surf below:

Holloway was surfing at Surf Abu Dhabi, the’ biggest man-made wave’ salt water pool in the world. The pool is 612 yards long and 93 yards wide, generating up to 8 to 10-foot waves. The pool can accommodate 30 surfers at a time.

Surf Abu Dhabi was created by surfing megastar Kelly Slater, who is also a huge mixed martial arts (MMA) fan. It makes sense that he would jump at the chance to let Holloway shred waves after his big fight.

Holloway intends to return to the octagon next Summer for International Fight Week and will most likely become a permanent Lightweight.

MMAmania.com – All Posts